Day 32 - Royal Hut to Crooked Spur Hut, 15km, 5 hours 30 minutes

Having spent a day and a half in Royal Hut I was on the point of leaving, with pack donned, when I discovered the back of the door of the hut. A treasure trove!  It was littered with the names of parties involved in autumnal droving runs, who obviously based themselves out of this hut, and included some proper New Zealand royalty.

One name was particularly noteworthy. 
Harry Ayers is without doubt the most famous mountain guide in New Zealand's history, bar none. Today he is best known as the man who guided/taught Sir Ed to climb throughout the Southern Alps, but this is to only brush the surface of his accomplishments. A genuinely exciting discovery to see his name up on the door, and on VE day no less!

The door had other famous names in New Zealand mountaineering, including Gottlieb Brawn-Elwert, who died while guiding then Prime Minister Helen Clark close to this hut (actually just the other side of Stag Saddle, where we had just come from).

Back to more prosaic matters. I'm going to have to start varying my diet soon. The unchanging texture of dehydrated food is starting to do my head in.

We're still in pretty big country, however with a fairly short day and not an undue amount of climbing, just a lot of up and down I expected an easy day, especially after coming off a zero day.



I was surprised therefore to find the day tough going. My legs had plenty in the tank but cardio-wise I just couldn't get in the zone today. I've been struggling with meals a little, but have been making sure to get through most of my food. 
Nevertheless I wouldn't be surprised if that has something to do with it.

In any case we had a decent break at Stone Hut on the way past before pushing on reaching a saddle with fantastic views after a short but testing climb up a scree slope...

... it was then an easy few kilometres to our hut for the night, itself having fantastic views to the Rangitata River.

Tomorrow will be interesting. All the SOBOs we have passed in the last few days have promised hell and brimstone on the few kilometres down Bush Stream to the river, with tales of unfordable maelstroms abounding. Most New Zealanders we have passed have been more optimistic, so I'm expecting some excitement but no particular issues getting to the Rangitata.

Crossing the Rangitata, which I have been hopeful of doing, might be a different story. It is still significantly higher than it normally is this time of year, as a result of the recent cyclone. We did talk to one SOBO who crossed it today, but it was flowing swiftly at belly button height for him. With rain forecast for the mountains that's marginal to say the least. I promised Karen before starting that I wouldn't be fording anything deeper than waist deep. Crossing with Neil would make the crossing easier though, so we'll see how the chips fall in the morning.

Day 31 - Royal Hut, 0km

A zero day, the first since Southland. All my other rest days since have been on hiatuses (hiatii?) in towns.

A day to dry out the tent/boots/clothes, sunbath, dip in the river, read and eat. Bliss!

Day 30 - Roundhill Ski Area to Royal Hut, 24km, 7 hours 30 minutes

Tenting out last night I was hoping to wait for the next hut 8km away for my ablutions but, when nature calls...
Fortunately there was a rabbit hole ideally placed. No digging required on my part, but no doubt one very shocked rabbit. Never mind, quid pro quo for all the rabbit droppings I've been walking over for the last 4 days.

The walking day started with an easy 5km of picturesque trail...


... before dropping to the Coal River and some fairly slow route finding upstream and an impromptu swim by Neil.


Within 90 minutes we'd made it to Camp Stream Hut, a fantastic little private hut with a large stack of fire wood that would make for a brilliant little weekend destination in from the Roundhill road end. We were only staying for lunch, but the $10 cost of staying there would have been well worth it.


After lunch, like most TA walkers, we left the official trail which followed a valley, instead climbing onto a sublime ridge with magnificent 360 degree views. Only a matter of 20km to the northwest was Aoraki, the other mountains bordering the Grand Plateau and the main divide. Unfortunately on our day this was largely hidden in cloud, but such was the scenery that this hardly detracted from the grandeur of the scene, with 2500+ meter high mountains dotting the landscape at seemingly all angles.

The ridge was some of the easiest climbing on the trail so far, a really easy gradient and took us across the 650km mark on the trail. HALF WAY!!! So momentous that it called for an inter centenary thumbs up.

As always the views kept improving as we climbed. The high point on the whole trail is Stag Saddle at 1950 meters. It seemed a shame to top out just below 2000, and with the newly named Beuzenberg  Peak (named after a Mt Cook guided, deceased on a fall with 2 clients) easily climbable from the ridge at 2070 meters we carried on up. Feeling privileged to stand in such a place I started to reel off photos, none of which really capture the majesty of the place.







Then it was down a long scree slope on the other side of the mountain. We had 700 meters of altitude to lose, and only 4km to the hut to do it in.


The day was bookended by another hour and a half of difficult river route finding. I was getting tired and this section seemed to go on forever.

But we eventually made it to Royal Hut, so named because Prince Charles and Princess Anne were once choppered in here for tea. I think I earned it more!

Day 29 - Lake Tekapo to Roundhill ski area, 26.3km, 6 hours 15 minutes

I was thrilled to get a bed in the backpackers last night. I wasn't quite so thrilled to be in a room full of kiwi experience travellers, none of whom saw the need to turn off the light until after 1am.

So a late start this morning then. With sore feet after days of gravel walking and another 15km of it in prospect for today, I decided to tape the balls of my feet, the first time in weeks that I've needed to.

After breakfast in Tekapo, and having stocked up with bakery goodies for lunch it was time to hit the road.
There isn't much to say about the road walking, we (I say 'we', I'm walking with Neil again) worked our way up the north shore of Lake Tekapo before taking to the hills, the last of the big alpine lakes left behind.


We climbed on a generally easy gradient away from the lake, receiving a very welcome surprise when the low cloud that had obscured the mountains all day started to lift late in the afternoon.

Being treated to phenomenal views it didn't take too much thought to end the day short of the hut that had been our destination, set up camp in a semi sheltered spot beside a nicely bubbling brook, and enjoy the views for the evening.
Tenting at 1100 metres we've probably let ourselves in for a cold night, but the views were worth it!

Week 4 summary

7 days walked, ignoring the long hiatus back home for Jakob's birthday and dodging the weather.

I started the week at Lake Hawea and end at Lake Tekapo about to climb out of thing Mackenzie Country, having covered 172km.

A lot of gravel walking has left me with very sore feet and I still have a few niggles in my legs, but generally I'm in pretty good nick physically. A 4 day break helps in that regard!

The back still does well with minimal voltaren required.

Onward away from the alpine lakes and further into Canterbury!

Day 28 - Lake Pukaki to Lake Tekapo, 35.1km, 7 hours 30 minutes

With a cold morning and me being cosy/lazy in my sleeping bag, it was a latish start to the day, albeit I was on the trail by just after 8.

Having walked to where the trail left Lake Pukaki yesterday, at the Pukaki Power Station.  There was an immediate easy climb away from the lake, following the hydro tunnels that were dropping water down from the Tekapo Canal.


I really enjoyed the first 10km walking. With gravel road to walk, no attention to where my feet were stepping was required, leaving me free to admire the various mountain ranges arrayed in front of me. Having spent a lot of time around Aoraki in recent years I knew the peaks well. I particularly enjoyed the view I had of Mt Tasman (not visible from the environs of Mount Cook Village - it hides in behind Aoraki from that vantage point) and the full extent of (perhaps my favourite mountain) Mount Sefton, with its enormous, glaciated east face.

The recent snows were still apparent, even the Sealy range, home to my favourite climb (but not Jakob's, long story) still had a dusting.

My peaceful reverie was broken somewhat by the horrible whine of a hydrofoil making its way up the lake below me. I guess you can't have everything.

The trail was following an old road along the Tekapo Canal that until comparatively recently was publicly accessible, and in fact back in the day was Karen's and my route of choice between Tekapo and Pukaki, being incomparably more scenic than the state highway.
Having a salmon farm along the canal, the road used to be crammed with fishermen, seeking the enormous trout that always surround salmon farms. The salmon farm is much larger than I remember it used to be, it now stretches for perhaps a couple of kilometres along the canal. Enormous salmon jumping inside the pens, and enormous trout still jump outside of them.


Close to the salmon farm I was pleased to add to my group of curio from this trip, the world's most over engineered gate.



Most of the rest of the day wasn't so interesting, consisting largely of this:

The mountain scape opened up again close to Tekapo, providing distant views of my coming route into the Two Thumb Range.

... and I passed 600km, now within sniffing distance of half way!  By the by I wonder what the sniffing distance is to me?


Lake Tekapo is full to the brim, a result of the recent cyclone no doubt, so water was being spilled into the Tekapo River, a rather rare occurrence.

Arriving in Tekapo, after a lot of walking around town; to the pools, back into town for dinner (where I had a happy meeting and catch up with Neil over a beer) I have collapsed into a dorm at the camping ground. I was pleased to get it, accommodation seems bordering on unobtainable in this town.
I haven't met my room mates yet, but looking at the room I venture to suggest they are young.

Day 27 - Twizel to Lake Pukaki, 23.7km, 5 hours

I started the day with breakfast in Twizel. I've got 10 days food on board, enough to get me to the Rakaia River, but with little provision for emergency food in that calculation, so I figured I may as well eat in town while I could. All that food does have the added penalty of a heavy pack, but with no climbing to be done for a few days, it could be worse!

There is a fair bit of snow on the mountains not yet melted from the weather I dodged coming home a week ago. For it to be still there now this time of year meant it was a fair old dumping. While it's there it could mean some cold winds, so I've packed an extra base layer for the next section.


I started by making my way towards Lake Pukaki. The Twizel River looked to be in high flow and good for swimming, but I wasn't stopping only 20 minutes into my walk.

Most TAers skip or bike this section. But with a cool and pleasant day I was really enjoying the distant mountain vistas early on.  However I hadn't been walking long when the weather closed over the far alps and a strong headwind sprang up. Enjoyment factor somewhat diminished, I soldiered on.

The Mackenzie Country has a massive Wilding pine issue, and it didn't take long for me to encounter them. They're literally from here to Christmas, becoming worse on approach to a pine plantation.


Getting close to Lake Pukaki there were quite a few rabbits living amongst the pines, but then I got the shock of my life when what I initially took to be a large fox darted from the path ahead of me into the trees. It must have been a wild dog, of course, living off the rabbits. I can't say I've seen a wild dog on my tramps before, so this was a first for me.

After morning tea at the Lake Pukaki salmon store (Pepsi and chocolate chip biscuit) I continued on around the end of the lake, then up the northern side, to my campsite just south of the Pukaki power station.

As with seemingly all the other alpine lakes I've passed by, the wind had been in and there is quite the chop on the lake. This hasn't stopped me swimming and it was the same today, with a couple of late afternoon dips.  My campsite is tucked well into a dell.  I'm hoping this will provide some protection as the wind here can be ferocious.

My legs and feet are both quite sore given the rest I've had and the easy day's walk today. I've got 40 odd kilometres to clock off tomorrow, past Tekapo, so it'll be interesting to see how I hold together.